


Assassins Are Never Planned For

by AllesandraQ, Toshi_Nama



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fights, Gen, Language, M/M, criss crossing universes, plans getting all messed up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 11:26:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14448297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllesandraQ/pseuds/AllesandraQ, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toshi_Nama/pseuds/Toshi_Nama
Summary: A plan is made, then set into motion. The plan then goes south, and more happens than expected. Kaden Cousland should have known nothing every goes the way he wants it to.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic written for a collaboration exchange between Toshi_Nami and I. Kaden Cousland and her Inquisitor, Yareth Adaar and their universes collide for this meeting where things go out of control before they get corrected. 
> 
> This was for the DA Discord and DA Subreddit.

Kaden was not a happy person at the moment.    
  


He was in Crestwood, waiting for the plan he had argued and debated with Zevran about to go forward.  
  
The last few months had been chaotic as hell, and Zevran, when Kaden started talking about investigating the Inquisitor, appeared more worried than appeased. Which accounted for a lot of fast talking from the elven man that had been his husband for so many years.   
  
It was true that Kaden had not been in a good headspace for a bit. The False Calling, as he had now found out what it was, damn near drove him to suicide, and as grateful as he is that this so called Qunari Inquisitor was able to somehow end it, he was still suspicious as hell and probably a good dose of paranoid about it too.   
  
So after he spent a couple weeks recovering from the forced madness on him, he started planning. Then his plans got torn to shreds because Zevran, his patient husband of over a decade, heard two minutes of it, stopped him and called him an idiot. In several languages. 

Then pointed out the flaws of said plan, because the original plan, now that Kaden had time to look back at it, would have definitely gotten him killed and he realized he had made a plan while still recovering from the feverish paranoia from the False Calling.   
  
So he was rightfully an idiot.  

But he was still going to do something about this Inquisitor. If he couldn't pay a visit and question her in private without risking pissing off a shit ton of people (Although the idea of pissing off Leliana was more amusing than it should be, but he could take her.) 

So he flat out told his patient husband, who nodded, looked him square in the eye and told him that the were going to do this in a way where hopefully no one important died. 

The problem was, the more Kaden learned about this Inquisitor, who was also the Herald of Andraste (Don't get him started on that line of thought), and this Inquisition, the less he was happy about it. The fact that he and Zevran actually got caught up in a series of events with the Inquisition, where they had actually hired fucking Crows to handle something, also didn't help. 

He was more unhappy with the whole thing because he viewed it as a possible threat towards Alistair. Hearing about their involvement in Redcliffe just made things worse in his mind.

Then just add in that hole in the sky, the Chantry going nuts, a so called savior with the ability to fix it all…

It just felt too damn easy.

And convenient.

_Really fucking convenient._

But as much as he preferred solving problems by killing them, because really it was the simplest way, he needed to know more. Because the Chantry was full of shit, and everyone else had different accounts and he wasn't going to take anyone's word on anything (Unless it's Zevran) until he saw with his own two eyes who this person was. 

So.

The plan.

Crestwood. 

By the time they had come from Orlais into Crestwood, they got more news.

This Inquisition apparently came through Crestwood the way he had gone through Orzammar - like a Druffalo on a rampage.  A ton of things were taken care of, the Mayor had been sent off to answer for his actions during the Blight, of which Kaden found out and promptly had to resist the urge to go off and kill the man.

The Inquisition had taken hold of the Keep there, and driven off a ton of a problems and were currently solving more. Zevran had done some of his brand of fact finding and it turned out the Inquisition was keeping the Keep and using it as a base. The Inquisitor, the Qunari named Yareth, would be arriving soon for another visit.

  
So the plan evolved. They had to be even more careful because the Inquisition was gaining even more influence, and while half the Chantry was against it, they were gaining influence from the non insane part of the Chantry (which still was not a ringing endorsement because Kaden thought that anyone Leliana trusted in that organization just meant they approved of her brand of crazy.) as well as had the gratefulness of the citizens that they had helped.    
  


So Zevran had definitely been right when they could not go with Kaden’s approach, and they had to rework a little of the plan the two of them had gathered. 

  
Kaden told himself that he was doing this with good intentions- take a good look at a potential threat, learn about them in a stressful situation, and then if the need called for it, reassess.  

  
The bandits from the Keep hadn't completely left. There were some that were properly pissed off over losing the Keep and were still alive, but didn't want to leave their caves out of fear of the Inquisitor to try and retake the Keep. 

  
So. Kaden and Zevran drove them out of the caves, forcing them to basically regroup. They harassed them into finally deciding to take another crack at the Keep. 

  
And now the Keep and their people were dealing with a persistent and angry group of bandits. The people inhabiting the Keep fought well, and Kaden was impressed. Then he heard about word being sent to this Inquisitor. So here Kaden and Zevran were, in the woods near the road - silently waiting and watching.  

Kaden knew that people showed their true colors in unpredictable situations. This Inquisitor would soon show her true colors and he would have more information on what his next action would be.

 

 

*********************

 

 

Yareth watched not Leliana’s face, but her hands.  The spymaster had been a bard, and was too used to being active.  Fists clenched so hard, she was sure the knuckles were white under her gloves.  Then again, she couldn’t blame her. Five more of her agents dead.

“...and we can’t track where they are coming from!  The attacks are too regular, as though something is driving them.”

“Surely, Ferelden can assist?  If we send word to the Arl, then…”

Yareth interrupted her ambassador.  “You mean the same way they threw out the bandits in the first place?  Lady Montiliyet, I’m all about working with the rightful government, but there  _ is _ no rightful government in Crestwood right now.  It’s just the Inquisition protecting the roads and the villages.”  She nodded her head toward her Commander. “And you’ve done a fantastic job - trade’s actually started to return.  But these...they’re not your normal bandits. And that means you need specialists, not soldiers.”

Cullen sighed, and nodded.  “We can give you support, but my people are stretched too thin for any sort of firebreak-style campaign.  And...training is still lacking.”

She sighed.  Great. Cleanup duty again - which was no more palatable because she suggested it.  “I’m on it. Leliana’s agents sent word - there are rumors of a rift I didn’t find the last time through.  That’s a good enough pretext for me to head out without kicking off more panic.” She thought for a moment.  “I’ll take Bull, Dorian...hm. Sera’s off collecting insects, isn’t she? Varric, then. That’ll give me a nice small squad.  I’ll check with Bull and see if any of the Chargers are free to backstop and fill in for ‘road guards’ or something, so we have some extra muscle to call on.  They’re good thinking on their feet.” She shook her head. “If there’s nothing else...I’ll get everyone rounded up and we’ll head out in the morning.”

********************

  
  
“Boss, I don’t like this.”  He glared at the roads. “It’s too easy.”

“It’s too wet!  My boots are getting dirty!”

She sighed again, and ignored the rain dripping off her horns.  “Shut up, Dorian. It’s not the damned Mire, so it’s fine.” She didn’t even bother to answer her lover, which was all the answer he needed.  A quick hand over her shoulder - yes, her staff was loose and ready, if she needed it. She glanced at the last member of her squad. “Varric?  Silence from our writer?”

“Why bother, Legs?  If this isn’t leading into an ambush, I’ll eat Tiny’s shirt.”

“Uh...Varric?”

“Yeah, yeah.  It’s a saying, Tiny.  Just because you don’t wear a shirt doesn’t change anything.”  He caressed his crossbow again, and Yareth went back to watching the hills.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Kaden's armor was covered by his cloak, and he pulled his hood up, hiding his features well enough. The sun stopped shining and it was raining again, by the time he and Zevran took notice of a party travelling the roads. 

The two of them were in a good spot. The trees gave them good cover and vantage. 

With the symbols obvious from their place, Kaden knew who it was. The fact that two Qunari were part of the group made it even more clearer. 

He knew some of the bandits were further up on the road, getting ready for another ambush of sorts.   
  
This would be the opportunity to see exactly what he was up against in regards to the Inquisitor. 

But that didn't explain that feeling in the back of his head, the crawling sensation at his neck, or why he was tapping his dagger against his leg.   
  
There was no Darkspawn nearby, he didn't sense them.  
  
His instincts were telling him something else was going to come into play.. But what? 

_ Shit. _

 

******************

__

She watched Bull acknowledge Krem’s ‘all clear,’ even though they all knew better.  The tension had been climbing for the past three hours - she could almost  _ smell _ the bandits, but they hadn’t shown yet.  “Vashadan. Screw this. Bull, the patrol’s yours.”  She sighted, and killed a poor Fennec - enough to trigger the enchanted ring and cloak her in shadows.  Krem yelped, then shut up when Bull glared at him. Either way, the response would look reasonable. He’d stop bitching soon - she’d just given him dinner, as soon as it thawed.  She and Bull had done this before - he just kept going while she started peeking over the hills and between the trees.

It didn’t take her long to find the first three, lurking on the other side of the hill a couple miles further on.  Clever spot - with the erosion, you couldn’t see it from the road.  _ If there are three HERE, then there should be...yes, a pair in the trees on the other side.  Five isn’t enough, not against them, and the bandits knew it. She’d kicked their asses hard enough last time through here.  Should be at least double these - were they the bait?  _  Yareth slipped back next to Bull, whispered the locations, and that she was going to peek past the hill.  He itched his horn - understood. At least he could pull them in quickly - that might be enough to screw up this ambush, but she wanted  _ all _ of them.  She’d seen too much of what bandits would do.

__

***************

__

“Andraste’s ass, this is suicidal!”

A hiss.  “Shut your face, Markus!”

“Both the Oxes are here!”

A third voice.  “Oxen, actually.”

Yareth grinned savagely, knowing they couldn’t see.  Here was the outer ring - but only to the East. Easy pickings, if they got the jump.  Five? She could handle it long enough for Bull to get his ass over here. Time to turn the tables.

 

********************

 

Zevran cursed in Antivan just as Kaden blinked in shock. They had started travelling through the treeline as the Inquisition party kept going.   
  
Then that one Qunari, with the glowing hand, just...disappeared.

  
"Mages can't do that right? I mean not much has changed in magic in the past few years?" Kaden whispered.

"Mi amor, I know about magic as you do," Zevran growled, shaking his head. He scowled out into the distance muttering something else in Antivan. 

So he wasn't imagining it either. Something else...was out there. 

Zevran stiffened briefly.

"Well, the storyteller is here," he drawled.

Kaden frowned. "From Kirkwall?"

"Yes." Zevran smirked. “He might remember me. I am hard to forget, of course.”  They stopped where they hid, still distracted from the disappearing mage to take in the others in the party. So the storyteller, what looks like another mage,and a larger Qunari with an eyepatch and a lot of tattoos.

  
Not to mention that feeling that something else was out there... 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

She climbed to the top of the hill - yes, easy to see Bull and Dorian, and could just catch the trees where the bandits were waiting...for…she focused and threw frozen bolts at the talkative ones she was standing over, then dropped a lightning cage before whipping her staff around and taking a pot shot at the bandit about to charge Varric from behind the hollow hill.  Every strike flared back into her Antaam-Saar, strengthening it, and she thanked Bull again for teaching her how to use it.

Dorian swore as the lightning started flashing, but dropped a barrier around the three of them just as Bull roared and tossed chains into the trees, trying to yank out the archers.  Varric just rolled his eyes and started whispering sweet nothings to Bianca as he tried to lay down some kind of covering fire for the Inquisitor, the only one who could heal the sky...who was way hell-and-gone three hills over.

“Just great.  Qunari and their risk avoidance.  ‘C’mon, guys, it’s only seven-on-one, what’s the trouble?’  Bianca, baby, we’ve got to find sane friends one of these days.”  He kept up his stream of mutters to his lady.

Yareth shot another set of bolts into her closest ‘friends,’ then started running back toward the others.  Dorian got a glimpse long enough to toss out a fire wall - she ran through, who cared about a bit of singeing - as the ring activated and she flickered out of sight again.  Up to the close hillside, and count. 

The archers were NOT having a good day as Bull acquainted them with the First Rule of Archery: stay out of range of the seven-foot wall of muscle with an axe.  One fell as she glanced over. Her five were all still...ok, four were still coming, the other was running in circles screaming. Dorian got off a nightmare, it looked like. And the other three were far too close for comfort.

“Bull, time to stop playing around!”  Chain lightning, but they were too far apart for it to be very effective.  Damn, they were almost good. Tactics were solid, no wonder they’d caused so much trouble.

Bull grunted.  “Busy, Boss!” He still roared a challenge.  That took two, but the third slipped into smoke.  Shit. 

“Rogue loose!”  And the other four were getting way too close.  Lightning to the rescue, right as they ran across one of Dorian’s fire mines, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

 

 

 

***************************

 

 

Kaden was impressed. The invisible mage did something, and most of the bandits were quickly out of the picture, the others handling the rest. 

He still wasn't satisfied. Figuring out this Inquisitor, especially now that she could go fucking invisible, may require direct action.   
  
Kaden's attention went from the now winding down battle to Zevran. 

"Staring."

"You like it."

Zevran chuckled, and then...

  
_ crack _

Kaden moved quickly, throwing himself against Zevran and landing on the ground with him as an arrow goes flying past. That arrow might hit one of the Inquisitor's party, but he didn't care. 

With practiced ease, they both got up to see six bandits behind them.  They must have used the fact both were focused on the battle below. Stupid - he hadn’t lived this long by forgetting to watch his back.  Kaden unsheathed his sword and his dagger, and grinned. 

  
"I hope you enjoy dying," he snarled. 

  
The bandits let out a stupid laugh, obviously not understanding. 

  
Well they’d understand soon enough. 

  
In a flurry of movements, he and Zevran were fighting on all sides, dodging arrows from at least one of them, and Kaden thinks another is a mage but he isn't quite sure until a tree behind him gets frozen and well isn't that  _ just fucking grand?  _

Kaden ended up getting grazed by something, he felt his cheek stinging from it, and he's glad he has his armor on because one of these shits got too close for his comfort. 

Sadly though, the fight spills from the cover of the trees and into the road, and no one is dead yet. 

“Nothing ever fucking goes right,” he snapped, frustrated with everything right now. He heard a bark of laughter from Zevran. “This is not the time to laugh, Zev!”    
  
“Why not? We are doing what we do well, might as well enjoy it.” Zevran tossed a grin at him before ducking and countering again.

 

 

**************************

 

 

Yareth grunted as a sharp pain hit her.  Swore, threw out another batch of freezing death, then looked down.  An arrow, right under her ribcage. Plant the staff, grab the arrow shaft with one hand, pressed up against her midriff...snap off the remaining shaft with the other.  “Bull! Hurry up!” 

She looked where the arrow had come from, just in time to see another graze past two figures...with damn fine armor.  One had a glowing sword.  _ Fine.  They’re not bandits because if they are, we’re fucked.  _  “More in the trees, and two friendlies!”  At least her voice could carry. Shot over one of their shoulders at an archer, and looked around again.  Varric was weaving, but Bianca still sent out her ‘kisses’ - hey, she’d seen worse fetishes.

Then Bull looked up and saw her - and the shaft.  “Kadan!” He roared, drawing the attention of everyone left on the battlefield.  Four...five, charged him. He swung his axe like it was nothing, a dance of whirling death they couldn’t escape.  The two who were still playing with Dorian looked like they were getting tired, and the rogue hadn’t shown up again.

“I’m fine, Bull,” she lied.  “Barrier, Dorian!”

He snapped another up and it was time.  She concentrated through the Anchor, into the strange space, and felt the familiar flare of pain as the glow focused, then snapped out over the miniature battlefield - though she made sure the friendlies were out of range.  The bandits started screaming, and she shot another batch of chain lightning. If this didn’t take them down… 

“Where’s the rogue?”  She slipped to the side, gritting her teeth to ignore the pain and creeping cold.  Poison. Of course. Later, it would have to wait til later.

  
  
  
**********************

****  
  


Interestingly enough, their fight ended up joining in with the fight the Inquisitor and their party had.   
  
Kaden and Zevran dispatched three of the bandits and by that time that odd feeling Kaden had been getting, the crawling feeling on his neck, was in full force and he realized that a couple of the bandits they were fighting were not bandits. 

_ Like calls to like.  _

The mage was definitely not a bandit. Most apostates don't use entropic magic like that, and Kaden was instantly wary of him. He saw entropic magic during the Blight - Morrigan enjoyed it immensely.   
  
He and Zevran ducked a couple more arrows, and Kaden finally had enough of that goddamn archer, took one of the knives he had hidden on his person for throwing and spun it right at her. He watched with grim satisfaction as the knife sunk into the archer's neck but he instantly had to weave and duck as he almost got hit with something from that mage.   
  
He turned to his right, to see how Zevran was doing and instantly he felt dread and panic when he didn't see his husband next to him. He wildly looked around, then noticed that all the bandits that were still living had suddenly surrounded the tattooed Qunari.  Big bastard, even for his kind. 

He heard said Qunari yelling out that word, the word that Sten used on him - Kadan. He filed that away for later. 

He then spotted Zevran, and then that damn Entropic Mage.   
  
He moved quickly, dodging and weaving, and grabbed Zevran just as he heard and saw two quick flashes of black light streak out, followed by what sounded like Antivan and the cry of others. 

One streak of black went past him, but another hit him in the chest, just as he pushed Zevran down and he instantly doubled over in pain, feeling his lungs spasm and he lets out a hacking cough. 

  
_ Shit.  _ **_Shit._ **

  
He could hear, dimly, Zevran yelling furiously, and he willed himself not to black out.  _ Too many targets, not safe yet, he can't pass out, he can't... not safe...  _ __   
  


He felt a hand yank his head back, and looked up to meet a pair of eyes that widen.  _ This one recognizes him.  _

  
"Cousland." 

  
He gathered up enough strength and will, forcing himself to fight through this hex and jammed the dagger in his right hand into the throat of his attacker. The man gurgled a little, let go and dropped as Kaden's lung spasm again, as he tries to fight through the hex.  

  
Morrigan always told him it was willpower. You had to have strength of mind and will to fight back against entropic magic. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

The twitch of magic in her blood.  Black streaks, and one of the friendlies was down.  Not too down, as he knifed another bandit, but still.  Focusing was getting harder...Yareth snapped out the spell, and paralyzed the mage.  “Varric, the mage!” Watched as he lined up a shot and Dorian, looking over, set him on fire.  That would do, she hoped. She looked around...the battle had shifted some toward the trees, and she hadn’t.  Exposed. She stumbled that direction, relying on her ring to hide her from view again.

Bull took down the last of his targets, saw the burning mage standing over a - crap.  Standing over a Warden with black hair and a glowing sword. _Cousland._  On the protection list from when he was still Ben Hassrath.  Good fighter, still hadn’t converted despite everything short of drugs the Ariqun could do.  Ear of the king. He watched the wavering mage line up another spell, and narrowed his eyes. Snapped a powerful shoulder, and sent his axe flying end-over-end, to pin his skull to the tree behind him.   _Good enough._

He grabbed a slick sword from the corpse nearest him, looked for another target - and watched Yareth drop to one knee.  No more enemies he could see on the blood-soaked battleground as he rushed over to her. “Kadan.”

She looked up into his eye, and smiled.  “Bull. Kadan. Get this damned thing out of me.  Poison.” Her breathing was rough, but no rasp. Her lungs were fine, despite where the arrow sat.

He paused, and brushed her cheek as he looked at the wound.  “Kadan, I don’t know the arrowhead.”

She gritted her teeth and narrowed her gold eyes.  “Bull. Get. It. _Out.”_

 

 

****************

 

 

"Amor?"

Kaden heard Zevran whisper next to him, but he looked around first.

Just moments ago an enormous axe went flying past him and he had to say that did not happen very often. If there’s anything to learn from this, is that the Inquisitor definitely has people that know how to fight. It takes talent and strength to throw an axe… especially one that size.

Plus it missed him and hit the mage that hexed him. Bonus. If they don’t try to kill each other later on, Kaden would probably owe him a drink.

The hex started to ease up and he could make out the others. The male mage looked...amused at everything, the dwarf that Zevran recognized was dazed and wobbly, while the big Qunari is hovering over the other - 

The Inquisitor.   
  
"I'm fine," Kaden was able to growl out. His chest hurt, but he's fine. He looked over Zevran and saw a few cuts on him, but nothing too serious.

Zevran just arched an eyebrow, and then stood, holding out his hand which Kaden grabbed and then got hauled up into standing position.

Lots of...dead people.  Nothing unusual here, beyond the fact three were still smoking.  No Crows it seems.

"That went well," he mutters in Antivan.

"We're alive, it always ends well when we live," Zevran countered.

His eyes narrowed as he heard "Get it out," in snarled words.  

He saw the broken shaft in her side then and then looked for one of the dead Archers. One was a few feet away and he stiffly moved over to look at the unused arrows. He pulled one out, saw it wasn’t barbed, but glistening with something.  
  
"Poison," Zevran confirmed. He bent down to search the archer, to see if they can find a poison it looks like.

"It's not barbed," Kaden called out to the other Qunari. About to say something else, when he spotted one more thing.

A necklace with a dragon tooth. He slid his gaze from the large Qunari to the Inquisitor and recognized the same one. 

During his visits in Par Vollen, he learned about these.

So… this and the Kadan bit.

Well, this _was_ turning out to be informative in a way he was not expecting.  

That crawling feeling came back with a vengeance though when he heard Zevran groan and he looked down to see Zevran too pale.  One of the cuts on Zev’s arms looked nasty. 

 _**“Zev?!”** _   
  
“Grazed by the arrow,” Zevran said, his tone light and Kaden wishes the Archer was alive just so he could kill him again. “He has about three poisons on him so we have something to work with.”   
  
Kaden went down to his knees, and cups Zevran’s face. _Slow moving poison, so they have time. That’s good._ He eyes the vials and he recognized each one easily, it’s only  the matter of finding the correct antidote in time.


	5. Chapter 5

She watched Bull’s eye as he looked down.  “Steady, Kadan.” Rocks and dirt under her back, but she focused on his eye, the hand pushing down on her ribcage, the rippling muscles of his arm, the  _ agony, but he said steady, ‘I’ll never hurt you without your permission,’ soon.  _  A wave of black, and he was still looking at her. She managed a shaky smile and touched the tooth around his neck.

Woozy.  Such an odd word.   _ Focus, Yareth.  _  “Varric?”

“Concussed, again.  I think he does it to get out of the cleanup.”  Dorian’s voice showed signs of stress, but was still snippy.  Good.

“Dorian, there’s poison.  Arrows, at least. Cauterize, and be careful.”  What else? “Bull. The friendlies.” He met her gaze, but this was the field, not her quarters.

He clenched his jaw, but nodded.  “Got it, Boss.”

He walked over to Cousland who instantly tensed as he drew near.  Easy to spot a dagger in one hand. “Shanedan, Warden-Commander.”  The tension shouldn’t be visible, he hadn’t forgotten his training that quickly.  He looked at the vials, and the elf. Tension - and more. Lovers, he was sure of it - and that fit what he remembered.  He kept his voice low as he pulled his axe out of the tree - and mage. “The Inquisitor went through most of the fight with that arrow, but...if you’ve got something to help, let me know. Otherwise, it’s cut and cauterize. Only thing we can do this far from a healer.”

"I haven't been Warden Commander for a while," Kaden snapped. The Qunari wasn’t a current threat, so he relaxed and went back to sorting through the poisons, keeping an eye on Zevran and his arm. He gave up his title to Nathaniel Howe, and very rarely went back to Amaranthine. 

"They had three poisons, so it appears not all were common bandits," he said to the Qunari. He figured that out earlier with the mage.  "Trying to find the antidotes. There should be another archer in this group. Someone might want to search--” He cut himself off as Zevran wavered in front of him and he cursed.  _ He knows he should be calm about this but anger is bubbling to the surface and this is going to make things hard for him to focus on.  _

“Easy, there.”  Bull looked up, and raised his voice.  “Dorian, get your fancy ass over to the Boss.  Bring her here - might as well keep the two together.”  

He looked back to the hill where Yareth had been shot, then sighted into the trees.  There was one body not far from the path...he gently turned the corpse over. Bianca.  Three bolts, right between the eyes. A pouch, a padded belt. “Here, this one might have something useful.”  Rather than mess with the stuff, he dragged the corpse back to Cousland. He hated poisons. “What should I call you?  Oh, I’m The Iron Bull. She’s the Inquisitor, the other two can wait.”

He didn't give a rats ass who the other two were. "Warden Cousland," he said gruffly.  He needed to concentrate on which poison was used so he could figure out the antidote. He sorted through the padded belt of the other archer that The Iron Bull (what the fuck kind of name is that?) drug over.  
  
"Chargers," Zevran said, chuckling, his tone a bit weak. 

“Yeah, the Chargers.”  Bull walked back to Yareth and knelt next to her, talking softly.

Kaden frowned and made another note ask his husband to explain that later. He shook some items out, found a couple rolled up pieces of parchment which he set to the side, and then the treasure - three other vials. The antidotes. 

It took him a few minutes to work things out; the poisons aren’t common, but they aren’t rare, and he had to use a couple arrows to match the right one. Tense work, especially with Zevran’s breathing getting more labored, which meant the Inquisitor’s was as well. 

But he figured out the antidote, after nearly poisoning himself but that’s the risk, and quickly gave it to Zevran. 

Since the other Qunari seemed to know him, he was willing to step away from Zevran, but kept him in his line of sight as he walked over. He could feel the mages eyes on him, the same way he’s watched someone who he thinks might be a threat and handed the vial to The Iron Bull, then walked back. 

“How much?  Mouth, or the wound?”  Bull didn’t take his eyes off Yareth, and she could hear the singing tension.

A cough.  “Bull. Easy, there.  I’m not going anywhere, you know that.  Too stubborn to die when so many stuck-up assholes would be thrilled to get rid of the inconvenience.”

He brushed a gentle thumb across the base of a broken horn.  “Yeah. That’s my Kadan.” He looked over. “Warden? I’d rather not experiment.”

Kaden knelt back down in front of Zevran, but looked back over to the two, taking in what he just heard.

“Mouth. Two drops worked fine on my partner, but for Qunari, it’ll be four drops.” He learned that the hard way with that antidote. 

Yareth coughed again.  “Tastes terrible, must mean it’s the good stuff.”  A deep breath - she’d been through worse, even if it had been a while.  She grabbed Bull’s arm, and he helped her sit up. “Wrap it, and I’ll be good to go.”

“Boss.”  His voice was low.  “Poisons that work against Qunari _ and  _ elves...slow-acting, and the antidote with them?”

“I’m not dead, Bull.  Yeah, that’s something to figure out.  She flicked a glance at the two ‘friendlies.’  “You know them?”

A ripple moves through his shoulders.  “Reports.” He raised his voice to normal, ending the private conversation.  “Warden Kaden Cousland, _ former  _ Warden-Commander of Ferelden, still Hero of Ferelden, Inquisitor Yareth Adaar.”

“Thanks for the assistance.  This was...not just bandits. Were they after you, or me?”  Her eyes tracked him.   
  


Kaden was unrolling the parchments when the Inquisitor started talking to them and the contents of said parchments pretty much answered the question, interestingly enough.   


"Zevran, the Crows are outsourcing the bounty on us," he held up the parchment.   
  
He read through the other. "It appears on both you and my partner, Inquisitor." He brought the scroll over, pointing to where it states the bounty on Inquisitor Adaar is a little more than Zevran's at the moment. 

“Zevran.  I recognize the name - you helped us out up North.”  She needed to take a couple deep breaths and her voice was choppy.  “Leliana said she’d found you a route back out. I’m impressed to be in such company - didn’t think I’d angered people...with such deep pockets...quite so much.”  Her lips quirked.

Before Kaden can work up a good rant on Leliana, He heard Zevran laugh. He bit his own cheek to keep from commenting and just worked on taking care of the cuts on Zevran.    


"Hear that? She's impressed, Kaden. I am quite  touched at that, truly. Then again people are always impressed by me. The lovely Leliana included."   
  
"The lovely Leliana can shove off," Kaden grumbled. "Even with her help we wound up with more targets on our backs and couldn’t follow through with a couple plans because of them.” They lost the chance to wipe out a Crow guild and their guildmaster because they ended up doing a job for the Inquisition that was originally supposed to be done by the Crows. 

“Do not mind him Inquisitor. Leliana still has not forgiven him for --”   
  
“Zev.”   
  
“I am not allowed to gossip? I am sure Leliana has told the beautiful Inquisitor many tales already.”   
  
Kaden sighed. 

“Not so many as you might think.  She’s...it’s been a difficult year” Yareth bit her lip as the deaths ran through her head.  Maaris, Ashaaad 3, Bresich...so many lost at the Conclave. She continued quietly. “It’s been a difficult time for a lot of people.”  A sigh. “That’s for another time, though.”  _ After the contract’s done.  The Divine needed the war stopped.  I failed her, I’ll meet the contract. _

Her gold eyes focused back on the pair, ignoring Bull twitching next to her.  He knew how bad her dreams could get, but it wasn’t important at the moment. “Assassins, with contracts out for both of us, bandits who oh-so-coincidentally start attacking the Keep again, and you two just happen to be travelling out here, in cloaks, in the woods.  Away from where people could see you. If I were suspicious, I’d wonder if this was something that got out of hand.”

Well, she’s not an idiot. That’s a point in her favor. Kaden was impressed. 


	6. Chapter 6

"Wherever I go, things get out of hand," Kaden said in a hard tone. "It's like a curse." He heard Zevran make a protest, but he didn't look away from the Inquisitor. He was not going to outright admit he set up a situation to see her in action and get a good gauge on how much of a threat she might be, only to see the situation go chaotic because of other elements involved. Not with so many others here that might take exception.

He doubted the Tevinter mage or The Iron Bull would appreciate why he did what he did. While he was sure he could take both on without a problem (If you can survive a dozen or so Ogres, the Architect and the damn Mother, then one can survive just about any other opponent.), he’d like to take the cautious route for once. 

“I’m sure you heard the stories about it,” Kaden sighed. “No need to explain. Death a constant companion. No matter where I go, things always seem to get out of hand.” 

She just watched him with those unnervingly calm gold eyes, and nodded faintly. “A simple contract. Defend an ancient old woman from a bunch of people who revere her. And all hell breaks loose, and all my kith are dead, demons are pouring from the fucking sky and somehow, I either caused it or am the chosen one,” a surprising amount of acid rips through her soft soprano, “sent to fix it. Oh, add in a thousand-year-old darkspawn Magister who can fuck with Wardens’ minds, and and wants to become a god.”

“Kadan.” Tension in the meaty shoulders, concern in his eye.

She struggled to her feet and walked slowly toward the Warden - and offered a hand. “Peace.”

Kaden snorts at the word. Peace. Thedas doesn’t know the meaning of the word. “That’s a dirty word,” he drawls but stands up. He stays in front of Zevran, protecting, guarding. But he clasps her forearm. He still feels the stare of the mage behind him. “But if that mage of yours doesn’t stop staring, I’m going to stab him.” 

“Dorian.” A warning voice, but she didn’t glance away. They worked well together, but no doubt who was in charge.

A dramatic sigh.

“I’ll get you drunk and set you up with Cabot if you’re not careful. Or my horse.”

“Fine, I’ll be good.”

“Peace.” She shrugged, and winced. “That’s what my contract was. To support the Divine, bring peace between the mages and Templars, stop the damned war so people could raise their families without dying like flies. I found a worse one, but doesn’t change the contract. And if I have to get my hands dirty so children can grow without getting spitted by bastards like these…” she shrugged again. “Or the shit that Mayor pulled, won’t be the first time they’ve been red.”

Kaden felt...like he’s met someone like him.

Getting their hands dirty. He and Zevran both knew how that feels. Zevran’s been doing it his whole life. Kaden’s been doing it since he became a Warden and then doing it even more when Alistair became King. He did so many things, to protect, his hands might as well be covered in blood permanently. 

He definitely needs to have a talk with this one, just to get more of a feel but he thinks he has his answers. He just needed a bit more. ‘Someone like him’ could still be dangerous. Was dangerous.

“Perhaps, if everyone is well enough, we can make way to some shelter? The Keep isn’t too far off and I’d like to get out of the rain.” And he could check himself more fully as well, see if that hex actually did something other than make him feel like his lungs were being ripped. And check over Zevran more thoroughly as well. 

“Yeah. Good idea.” Bull caught Yareth’s shoulders from behind as her knees buckled, pulled her against him. “Damn it, Bull.”

The Qunari’s voice was unexpectedly tender, and directed just at the ear so close to his mouth. “How about I do the walking for a bit, Kadan? You’re not actually supposed to try walk off a poisoned arrow in your gut, even if we found the antidote. Dorian can collect and burn all the arrows so we’re not leaving death behind us - and the corpses, too.” He looks at Kaden, and then shifts back to business. “Burning should work, right, Warden? And do we need a stretcher for your partner?” He carefully chose the word Cousland had. “I think Crestwood’s healer comes to the Keep every so often, if you wanted a professional to check things over, too.”

"I got him," Kaden says quickly enough. He's not quite willing to trust Zevran's welfare to them. He gathers their things, and helps Zevran up, wrapping an arm around him. The Keep isn't too far from here. 

He heard Zevran chuckle and he just flashes a look at him, which just makes his husband grin. 

"Don't start," he growls in Antivan, ignoring a sudden sharp ache in his lungs. 

Zevran murmured something back to him in Antivan, then turns to their company. "Don't mind my husband, my fellows. He's frighteningly overprotective at times, which of course causes him to be even more disagreeable and aggravating as I'm sure the stories paint him as. And to answer your question, yes, burn everything." 

"Damn it, Zevran," Kaden growled. He sighed. "But yes, a healer looking over us would be appreciated," he says as politely as he can, which isn't saying much, as the mage concentrates and the corpses begin to burn behind them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Epilogue 9 Days Later- Crestwood Keep**

 

 

They ended up spending a little over a week at the Keep.

  
What was intended for just a day of rest, to recover from the chaos of the fight that went from simple bandits to bandits and assassins, turned into several days of shit.   
Kaden got laid up in bed for the majority of the time, due to that hex he got hit with. Turned out he didn't recover from it as easily as he thought he did, because what turned from mild aches and pains turned into hacking up blood the next day and falling into a feverish, nightmare-filled sleep and the only reason he eventually recovered was the help of a healer.

  
And his recovery was as usual filled with the chaos that followed Kaden. He ended up stabbing an agent that was helping the healer - not deliberately. He had woken from one of his many nightmares, paranoid, feverish and Zevran had missed a knife when they had searched him for weapons earlier.

  
More chaos followed after his recovery, when one of the people who apparently worked at the Keep, apparently subscribed to the "Loghain was not a traitor" idea, and told him that the Couslands were traitors that deserved their deaths. (Turned out to be a Howe supporter.. a supporter that follows a Qunari as the Herald and Inquisitor. Which was all kinds of odd.)

  
Dorian, that Tevinter Mage and The Iron Bull were there when that delightful confrontation went down, and they wound up being unable to stop the fight that took place. and Kaden refused to apologize for the bloody corpse but did apologize to Yareth for bringing his brand of chaos into the Keep. That one, she understood. Even thanked him for ridding her of an idiot before he got better people killed. So did The Iron Bull, once she’d gotten him calmed down. He got as twitchy as Kaden, and Yareth had her own ugly recovery. The arrow had messed her up pretty badly, too.  
  
Now, everyone was healthy, healed and somewhat stable.

  
Kaden stood by the foyer of the Keep, waiting for Zevran as he mused over the conversation that he and Yareth finally had. Finally recovered, but staying one more night at her insistence, they ended up bumping into each other late into the night in the kitchen where he was pouring himself a drink.  
  
  
  


  
_He takes a drink, the ale going down his throat smoothly._

_"We all do things we feel we must do, to protect those we care about," he says looking straight at her. "Sometimes those things are not understood very well. I heard about Redcliffe, heard about everything. Felt it was finally time I got to see things with my own eyes... I got talked out of doing something more extreme." Like going right into her stronghold and stabbing her. That was usually how he solved problems. If he had done that, he would have wound up doing the Chantry a favor, and well... Fuck the Chantry._

_She snorted as she leaned against the wall, bandages still wrapped tightly around her. “Given the crap you and all the other Wardens had been dealing with, I’m not sure I’d have blamed you for trying. Though I’ll be happier when you’re not stabbing my people, they should have known better and sent in your Zevran.” A thin smile. “And the Chantry…” she sighed and shook her head. “Leliana keeps telling me it’s important, and there’s no point in trying to fight all the rumors. But if this war showed anything, it’s that something had to give. I’m NOT going to stop this war only to plant seeds for another one.” She poured her own, finished it off, sick weariness filling her eyes. “You’re right, we do what we have to do, whether anyone else understands. I swear to you, that’s what I’m trying to do. I’ll finish the contract, even if it’s turned into a bigger mess than I’d ever imagined possible. But no one wants a Qunari sticking around and ruling in the center of the continent, including me. I have no designs on your King or his people.” She poured another, then held out the pitcher to him. She quirked an eyebrow. “Peace?”_

  
_Kaden snorted, takes the pitcher and fills his glass again, "Leliana, precious Leliana and her damnable faith. She doesn't understand shit." He shakes his head. "She hasn't changed at all. Keeps clinging to the Chantry, her faith, as if it has all the answers." He waved off her comment about the contract. "I was more worried about Alistair. Anything to protect him, it's been that way for years." He eyed her, thinking about her last line, then smirked. "Eh, I don't know, I think I want you to stick around. I like seeing the Chantry freaking out."_

  
_She really isn't a threat. Not right now at least. When the sky is healed and this Magister isn't around, then he might have to reassess. But for now... she's what's needed._

_"If you need anything," he finds himself saying surprising himself. "I'll help. Just on the condition that Leliana doesn't know, I don't need that. But send word to me or Zevran. We'll be in Denerim. I'm needed there with all this going on." He glanced down at her hand, takes a huge drink and sets his glass down. He looked up, met her gaze. Another smirk formed and he clasped forearms again. "Peace," he drawled. "What a concept."_

_“I’ll use the Chargers,” she promised, and hesitated a moment. “I have to put this Corypheus first, but - I’ll offer you the same. If you need something done you don’t have the access or information for…” She left it there. “And peace may be just a concept but it’s still worth trying for, even if it can’t include those of us who make it happen.”_

_He stilled for a moment, taking that comment in. And found it truthful._   
  
  
  
  
  


"Deep in thought, mi amor?" Zevran's voice breaks into his musings. The memory fades, and Kaden looks to his husband. He knows Yareth and the others are nearby, one or two probably watching.

  
"Just thinking."

Zevran closes the distance and kisses him. Kaden finds himself relaxing, and kissing him back, threading his fingers through Zevran's long blonde hair. He breaks the kiss before it gets too intense, and rests his forehead against him.

"Did you find your answers, mi amor?"

"Yeah," he sighs. "Best get on to Denerim, make sure Alistair is dealing with things all right." He pulls away, knowing he doesn't need to look behind them to see the small audience. He said his goodbye to Yareth earlier.

The Inquisition soldier nods to them, and then opens the wide doors, letting them out. 


End file.
